FORMER Super Eagles defender, Taribo West, has condemned the Nigeria Football Federation and the Lagos State Government for allegedly abandoning Nigerian ex-players, especially the family of late goalkeeper Peter Rufai.
Speaking during Rufai’s burial, in an interview video posted by News Central on Friday, August 22, the ex-Super Eagles star said the treatment of Nigerian football legends after their passing reflected a culture of neglect that had persisted for decades.
Recall that the news of Rufa’i death was confirmed in a post on Thursday, July 3, by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) via its official X handle.
He died after a prolonged illness.
Rufai, popularly known as Dodo Mayana, was part of the glorious 1994 Super Eagles team that won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Rufai made 65 appearances for the national team and was part of the golden generation that lifted Nigeria’s second AFCON title in Tunisia in 1994.
He was also part of the team that represented the country at the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cup tournaments in the USA and France, respectively.
Addressing reporters during Rufai’s burial, Taribo said the institutions responsible for sports and welfare left Rufai’s relatives to struggle alone with burial costs.
“It’s disheartening that you have Lagos State, you have the Nigerian Football Association. They drop the bulk on the family. I felt in my spirit that there is nothing to put your life for. That’s why I say I have to shift back so that I will not implode. It’s grieving.
“My mother passed on. I never shed tears. My father passed on in my hands. I never shed tears. When Rufai passed on, I had goose pimples on my body. And every individual I’m speaking to, there were tears rolling down my cheeks. What kind of nation is this?” he said.
He described the situation as part of a long-standing pattern where former Nigerian footballers’s welfare were neglected.
He cited previous cases involving the families of Stephen Keshi, Rashidi Yekini, and Thompson Oliha.
“I will never advise even my son to put his feet for this country. Send me out! Do we have a Football Federation or do we have a Football Association in this Lagos State? That this hero, this soldier, this football evangelist, has to be treated this way in his family.
“Could you imagine that the family would be crying just to solicit in within our groups to ask for money? That is madness.
,”he added.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M